But the peafowl that have roamed the centre of the village for decades are now ruffling some feathers.

While the brightly-coloured birds have their supporters, a number of villagers say they have become a nuisance and should face curbs.

The peafowl live opposite The Common (Image: Sonya Duncan)

One local has gone so far as to raise the issue with the parish council and South Norfolk District Council, which has agreed to look into it.

The muster - the collective name for a group of peafowl - has been a common sight in the village for decades.

For the last 20 years, they have been owned by Alan Steynor, a retired judge who lives at Mulbarton Hall.

He took them on from a friend, who moved into Norwich.

Some say the birds have been a fixture of the village since the 1960s.

One of the peafowl roaming around Mulbarton Common (Image: Sonya Duncan)

During that time, Mulbarton has been transformed by hundreds of new homes, becoming one of the fastest-growing villages in Norfolk.

This dynamic might account for the changing attitude to the birds, with newcomers initially charmed by the creatures then becoming frustrated with them.

The peafowl - which number around 20 - live in the grounds of Mr Steynor's home, but are regularly seen on the nearby Common, surrounding streets and neighbours' gardens.

They have even been spotted trying to board buses which stop in the village.

The peacocks in Mulbarton Primary School (Image: Sonya Duncan)

They have become so well established that the village primary school even has its own 'peafowl policy' on how to deal with the birds which regularly patrol the grounds and are sometimes found wandering the corridors.

The eight-page document, which describes........

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